Kamala Harris finally had tough interview. She was on Fox News for a sit-down with Bret Baier on Wednesday, who did a great job pressing her. She had an opportunity to really explain to Fox News viewers how she could help them, and she didn’t.
Instead, she spent the majority of her time bashing Donald Trump. Obviously, that is what this was about for her. Kamala Harris wanted to go on Fox News – into the belly of the beast – and just bash Donald Trump.
This, Madam Vice President, was the wrong strategy.
I know the Fox News viewers very well, and you do not win them over by bashing Donald Trump. They either love Trump or are open-minded to Trump. You win them – if they are winnable at all – by showing the people who are not huge Trump fans that you are a better option because you can help improve their lives and you are not as radical as they have been hearing all day, every day on Fox News.
She didn’t do any of that. Time and time again, she failed to answer the questions on big issues – including immigration, the economy, and Joe Biden’s mental acuity. Instead, she filibustered with non-responsive pablum or by bringing up another issue entirely. This is a politician’s trick, and it is not unusual to see it. But in response to everything?
Kamala Harris did not offer any substance, but she should have and she could have. Just off the top of my head, here is how she could have handled Bret’s questions on some of the most pressing issues of the campaign.
On Immigration
Bret started with immigration, which was the right thing to do. It is her most vulnerable issue. He pressed her on it, and she was not prepared. She admitted the border is broken, but she took no responsibility and then she tried to gaslight us into believing she is really Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s border guy. She had the thumbs in the bed loops. Her John Wayne routine came out last night with her ‘I’m the only one who’s prosecuted transnational criminals…’
Here is what she should have said: ‘Yes, the border is a mess. But look, Bret, I was vice president, not president. I have seen what has happened to people like Jocelyn Nungaray [the 12-year-old Houston girl who was murdered by an illegal she let in] and I’m totally committed to stopping this. Having had this experience in the number two spot has only made me more resolved, should I be elevated to take care of this problem. And here are the executive orders I will issue on day one to do it, irrespective of whether I can get Congress to cooperate with me.’
That is not what she did. She just dodged.
On the Economy
It was the same thing on the economy. She should have said something substantive beyond her myopic little $25,000 credit for first time homebuyers. You know what collection of people that is? Not big enough to just make it your platform.
She should have said: ‘Trump spent us into oblivion. He was like a drunken sailor. He wasn’t exactly an economic purse-clutcher. Now that I might be in charge, I will take a more reasonable approach. We’ll fight the debt. We’ll fight inflation. And here’s exactly how…’
She can’t do that because she doesn’t know. She doesn’t even understand those three plans she has unveiled. She has been given some talking points she repeats incessantly, and they are empty. She should have prepared some talking points that would have sounded reasonable to Fox News viewers.
On Joe Biden
And then there was the question about Biden’s mental acuity. Thank God Bret asked about. Somebody finally did it. Good for him. But frankly, her handling of the question was downright embarrassing. She didn’t have an answer. How does she have an answer on this? I guess she just assumes no one is going to ask her because no one has?
Well, I will give you an answer, Kamala. You really should listen to this show because I can help you. You should have said something like: ‘Bret, what I saw was an older president who had moments of forgetting his words sometimes or his train of thought but was still entirely capable. That is what my experience was with him. And then came the debate and, as you know, within weeks of that he resolved not to run for a second term.’
What else can she say? But what she said in the interview was, ‘Trump. Trump. Trump. Trump. Trump. Trump.’ The Trump Derangement Syndrome was coming out of her ears. That is not responsive to: ‘What did you know and when did you know it?’ That was the question.
‘I Don’t Get It’
What was she doing there? She was trying to win voters in a new forum. Why would she say nothing? The only thing of substance she said was, ‘Trump sucks.’ And that is the wrong strategy when dealing with Fox News viewers. Nothing she said is going to assuage even a single viewer who watches Fox News. I don’t get it.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 919 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.